South Shore Parkways Reopen 2 Weeks After Sandy

Several South Shore parkways that were closed since Superstorm Sandy have reopened, as did a section of Jones Beach State Park, police and parks officials said Thursday.

Police reopened the Meadowbrook Parkway and most of Wantagh Parkway to drivers Thursday, but the northbound Wantagh parkway remains closed from the Jones Beach water tower to Merrick Road, New York State police spokesman Trooper Frank Bandiero said.

Hurricane Sandy forced police to close off certain sections of both parkways due to damage to the roadways.

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The Meadowbrook and Wantagh parkways are key roads that provide access to Jones Beach, which residents can once again visit by accessing Field 2 and Field West End 2, said George Gorman, deputy regional director for New York State Parks on Long Island.

“Jones Beach is visited year round and right now we’ve had a lot of inquiries,” he said. “People want it to return to normality, they want to come back to the beaches and the parks so they’ve been asking when we can open and we started to open them.”

Robert Moses State Park remains closed but officials gave the go-ahead to reopen Captree State Park.

Not everything is back to normal.

Eastbound Ocean Parkway at the Jones Beach tower is still closed, as is westbound Ocean Parkway at Cedar Beach Marina, but residents of Gilgo, West Gilgo and Tobay Beach will be allowed access, state police said.

But Ocean Parkway westbound from the water tower to the Meadowbrook is open, police said.

Officials added that residents of Oak Beach, Gilgo Beach, West Gilgo Beach and Tobay Beach must use the Robert Moses Causeway to get to their homes.

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